Allylic oxidation is a fundamental organic reaction of significant interest to organic chemists practicing in a variety of fields from agricultural products to pharmaceuticals. A variety of procedures are known for oxidizing various organic compounds that possess allylically activated hydrogen, but such procedures typically suffer from unsatisfactory yields, tedious workups and/or require the use of expensive and/or ecologically and physiologically undesirable reagents, such as chromium.
Hence, a continuing need exists for a simple, efficient, safe and cost effective procedure for selectively effecting allylic oxidation of organic compounds.